Ivy the Kiwi?: Wii Game Review

Remember Sonic the Hedgehog? The creators of the classic video game series recently released a new game, Ivy the Kiwi? Will it fall short of the hype or will it have us swinging from vines late into the night?

A Simple Story

Ivy the Kiwi? starts with a simple storyline that sets up the rest of the game. A polka dot egg falls from the sky and out comes a little chick named Ivy. She looks around and realizes that she is missing her mother, so she sets out to find her. The player is then thrust into level one.

Ivy the Kiwi

Game play consists of players navigating Ivy through levels of mazes using branches to nudge her. You cannot actually control Ivy herself (which can be frustrating), but must use the Wii remote to draw vines that push, lift and catapult her in the right direction. The goal of each level is to make it to a podium at the end of each maze, which, we assume, will bring Ivy closer to her mother.

Boring Background

While the character itself is quite cute, the game’s levels leave much to be desired. Ivy the Kiwi? has a fairytale storybook theme, with 10 chapters and 100 different levels. However, there isn’t much variation between levels or chapters. While the levels slowly increase in difficulty (usually through the addition of spikes or dangerous mice), the background and visual presentation of the levels changes very little. Colour is used sparsely throughout the game, which some may see as a good or bad thing. I found it lacking in energy.

An Obsessive Challenge

Ivy the Kiwi? has one redeeming quality which may be its saving grace: the game is addictive. Story and level development aside, the basic task of drawing vines will have you playing this video game late into the night. Although at first this may seem too simple to keep you interested, as the levels progress you will be eager to learn new ways to protect your little chick as she searches for her mother.